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Her

Note that the points given below on the position of her as a direct and indirect object pronoun also apply to the other object pronouns me, you, him, it, us, them

As a pronoun

▪ When used as a direct object pronoun, her is translated by la, and usually precedes the verb:

I know/don’t know her = la conozco/no la conozco

I’ve already seen her = ya la he visto

In imperatives, her is translated by la, and is attached to the end of the verb:

look at her! = ¡mírala! (with tú)

kill her! = ¡mátela! (with usted)

In negative commands, however, la comes before the verb:

don’t touch her! = ¡no la toques!

▪ When used as an indirect object pronoun, her is translated by le, and usually precedes the verb; a ella may be added to avoid ambiguity:

I gave her the book o I gave the book to her = le di el libro (a ella)

Where a direct object pronoun is also used, her is translated by se to avoid two pronouns beginning with l appearing together. The order is se + direct object pronoun + verb:

I said it to her = se lo dije (a ella) (and not le lo dije)

In imperatives, her as indirect object is translated by le, and is attached to the end of the verb:

buy her the book! = ¡cómprale el libro!

Where a direct object pronoun is also used, her is translated by se. It is attached to the end of the verb, followed by the direct object pronoun:

give it to her! = ¡dáselo (a ella)!

In negative imperatives, the order is se + direct object pronoun + verb:

don’t give it to her! = ¡no se lo des!

With the infinitive

When her as direct or indirect object follows an infinitive, the translation can always be attached to the infinitive. Note that, in some of the examples below, her can also be placed before the finite verb preceding the infinitive:

I want to see her = quiero verla or la quiero ver

he wants to give her a book = quiere darle un libro or le quiero dar un libro

we ought to explain it to her = deberíamos explicárselo or se lo deberíamos explicar

With the gerund

When her as direct or indirect object follows a gerund, the translation is attached to the gerund:

he stood there staring at her = se quedó allí mirándola fijamente

When used with continuous tenses, however, it may precede the auxiliary verb:

I’ve been talking with her about it for two hours = llevo dos horas hablándole del asunto

Accentuation

Note that the addition of a pronoun or pronouns to the end of an imperative, infinitive, or gerund does not alter the stress on the word to which it is added. An accent is therefore required if the stressed syllable is no longer in the penultimate position:

search for her! = ¡búsquela!

looking at = mirando

looking at her = mirándola

to communicate = comunicar

to communicate it to her = comunicárselo

This applies to imperatives with vos with reverse effect; in the example below, the addition of the pronoun means that the stress now follows the usual pattern by falling on the penultimate syllable: